A former Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officer was sentenced Monday to two years of probation for improperly accessing driver's license data on and off the job.

John A. Hunt, 49, of Woodbury, who pleaded guilty in February to misconduct by a public officer, unauthorized computer access and unauthorized use of driver and vehicle services data, had five additional counts dismissed at his sentencing in Ramsey County District Court.

Hunt was fined $1,000 fine and ordered to undergo counseling for mental health issues. In addition, he agreed to no longer contest the loss of his job at the DNR.

If Hunt avoids trouble for two years, his convictions will be dismissed.

Citing pending civil liability in the case, Hunt declined to speak at his sentencing. His attorney, Fred Bruno, said later that Hunt was handling the situation well.

"It has not been easy," Bruno said.

Prosecutor Cary Schmies said the plea agreement and sentencing were "a very fair outcome" for Hunt, a first-time offender. Hunt's computer was purged by experts to ensure no inappropriate data remained on it, Schmies said.

"There's no public safety issue at all here," Schmies said.

Hunt, a former manager in the DNR's enforcement division, was charged in February 2013 with making thousands of searches for license data over a five-year period. Prosecutors said it was far more than were required by his job, which included using the data to perform background checks.

He alleged searched data of politicians, local celebrities, police officers and others.

Advertisement

Among them were the wife of a judge in his own case and the St. Paul city attorney, who recused themselves from the case because of the potential conflict of interest.

Schmies, a city attorney for Duluth, stepped in to assist.

About 5,000 people got letters from the DNR telling them their data might have been accessed improperly.

In his plea, Hunt did not admit guilt but conceded there was likely enough evidence to find him guilty.

The charges came amid concerns that officials were routinely abusing access to driver's license information, which can include photos, addresses and physical information.

A state audit released a few weeks after Hunt was charged found that more than half of law enforcement searches for license data might be inappropriate.

Users made searches for friends, family and even themselves without legitimate reasons, investigators found.

The audit was prompted by the case of Anne Marie Rasmusson, a former St. Paul police officer whose data was accessed hundreds of times by fellow officers.

As reports of abuses emerged, more people stepped forward with claims they had been the subjects of hundreds of searches for no apparent reason. The allegations snowballed into several lawsuits, including five directed at the DNR over Hunt's searches.

One judge dismissed the suits against the DNR in September, saying individuals couldn't sue state agencies under the law in question.

Other lawsuits have been dismissed in similar fashion, though others are pending against several Minnesota cities, counties and government agencies.

After Hunt's sentencing, Bruno said many of the alleged violations were the byproduct of a mindset that license data was akin to "Facebook for cops" -- an easily accessible, widely used source of information.